A Haunting in Central Virginia

Recently, friend and fellow Virginia writer, Joe Maddrey, suggested that we should catch up after a long spell without seeing each other. This sounded good to me, so we decided to meet somewhere between our respective domiciles, which are several hours apart. He's become acquainted with another Virginia writer, Michael Gray Baughan, who has a place out in the sticks near Appomattox, so we settled on meeting at Mike's place for lunch. And yesterday, that is what we did.

 

From here, it was about a two-hour drive, mostly on two-lane back roads, which took me through the little towns of Gretna and Brookneal. On the geocaching map, I saw a cache at a place called Johnson's Mill that looked interesting, so I took a short detour to go after it. And it was cool. The hunt led me down a tiny road with a single-lane bridge (see photo above) and into the woods, where I discovered an old stone dam. Happily, I found the cache, which is pretty old, with no difficulty and in good condition. This set the tone for the day, as the trip went swimmingly.

Mike's place (which is not his full-time home but his wife's family's ancestral dwelling) is way the hell out in no-man's land, and while the GPS map came in handy, the directions Joe sent me in advance were most useful. There's a couple of hundred acres here, some of it farmland, but most of it wooded. The house itself is well over a century old, and Mike has been busy with a one-man restoration project — and, as far as I'm concerned, his progress is phenomenal. He's put on a whole new roof, rebuilt the front porch, constructed a few outbuildings (including a first-class outhouse) with wood from trees he cut and made into lumber, refurbished the full interior, and much more. If ever anyone defined "handy" to me, Mike is that gentleman — and he is a most gracious host.

 

Not to mention he's a writer. Joe sent me his story collection, The Ana Log & Other Anomalies, which I've not read yet, but it's coming in the queue.

 

He gave us a detailed tour of the house and a portion of the grounds, regaling us with tales of the place's history as well as many engaging personal anecdotes. Since there aren't any dining establishments anywhere nearby (and you can sure there's no Doordash or other food delivery), Joe and I brought our own lunches (I picked up some chicken tenders in Brookneal), and we sat outside at a lovely wooden table Mike had made by hand. Then we sat, drank beers, and shot the shit for the better the part of the afternoon.

 

A most excellent meeting of the minds, I'd say. I'd be hard-pressed to imagine much better than than three scary writers together in a lovely, remote location swapping stories. Silly me, though; I took plenty of photos of the location, but none of us together. I reckon the three us will have to meet up again sometime soon and have a regular author photo shoot.

 

I could cope with it.

Mike's home away from home out in the wilds of central Virginia

One of the lovely views inside the house

The only photo I took featuring Mike (left) and Joe (right)

This is one of Mike's photos from a while back, but it's essentially the view we had while sitting and shooting shit

Autographed, Creepy-Ass Books at Chapter & Hearth Booksellers

Chapter & Hearth Booksellers, in nearby Collinsville, Virginia, has picked up autographed copies of several of my books, and they're doing a bang-up job promoting them, which I so appreciate. Currently, they have The House at Black Tooth Pond, Gods of Moab, Blue Devil Island, and The Lebo Coven. Chapter & Hearth is located at 3408 Virginia Avenue, Suite 2, Collinsville, VA 24078, (276) 352-5117, and open Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. I love this shop!

It's cozy, comfortable, and has all the character of the best neighborhood bookstores from their heyday — not to mention a fine selection of books! If you love books, and you're anywhere in traveling distance, I strongly recommend that you stop in!

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THE HOUSE AT BLACK TOOTH POND
Stephen Mark Rainey delivers a chilling Appalachian tale steeped in atmosphere and creeping dread. The House at Black Tooth Pond follows the unsettling mysteries surrounding an isolated home and the dark history embedded in the surrounding woods. Rainey’s signature slow‑burn tension and vivid sense of place make this one of his most haunting works. Our in‑store copies are signed by the author, making this eerie novel a perfect addition for collectors and horror fans alike.

THE GODS OF MOAB
In The Gods of Moab, Stephen Mark Rainey blends Appalachian dread with cosmic horror, pulling readers into a remote mountain community where ancient forces stir beneath the surface of everyday life. The novel builds a slow, unnerving tension as characters confront otherworldly menace and unsettling revelations that challenge their grip on reality. Rich with folklore, psychological unraveling, and that signature Rainey atmosphere, this is a gripping descent into mythic terror. Our signed copies make an exceptional addition for collectors and fans of dark, immersive storytelling.

BLUE DEVIL ISLAND
Set against the backdrop of WWII, Blue Devil Island blends military suspense with Lovecraftian terror as a squadron of soldiers encounters something far more sinister than enemy forces. Mark Rainey’s mastery of claustrophobic tension and otherworldly menace turns this remote island into a nightmare landscape. These signed editions offer readers a gripping mix of historical adventure and cosmic horror — a standout for anyone who loves dread that builds page by page.

THE LEBO COVEN
In The Lebo Coven, Mark Rainey taps into dark rural folklore and the shadowy traditions of a small Appalachian community. Witchcraft, ritualistic secrets, and ancestral darkness converge in a story that feels both timeless and deeply unsettling. The novel’s slow‑building supernatural tension makes it a perfect read for fans of occult horror. Our signed copies highlight Rainey’s local roots and give collectors a chance to own a piece of Martinsville’s horror legacy.

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Thanks, Ed & Mitch at Chapter & Hearth, for all your support!

Distant Early Warning: BROKEN BARRIERS....

I am excited to announce that have delivered the final files for Broken Barriers, my sequel to The House at Black Tooth Pond, to Crossroad Press, so it should be up for pre-order very soon. The release date hasn't been set yet, but I anticipate it for later this year or very early next. The image above is one I created for the book's interior, and I will post the cover (featuring art by J. Edward Neill) as soon as it's up for pre-order.

 

Here's a little teaser...

BROKEN BARRIERS
The compelling sequel to The House at Black Tooth Pond

SIX WEEKS AGO: A series of horrific events rocked the small, mountain community of Aiken Mill, Virginia — a horrifically mutilated body vanishing from the town morgue and numerous prominent individuals going missing without a trace — leaving both local and Federal law enforcement agencies baffled.

NOW: Celeste Muir, a former FBI agent with extensive experience in paranormal phenomena, allies herself with Aiken Mill Sheriff Bryce Parrott to face the unknown forces that have terrorized the town.

Enter Leo Bray. A sinister, grotesque stranger who appears to know more than anyone should about the recent calamities. Every person he contacts first suffers anxiety, followed by hallucinations, and then uncanny visions of other worlds. Other dimensions.

With their every step forward, Agent Muir and Sheriff Parrott encounter ever-more menacing terrors. Who is Leo Bray? What is his connection with the dire events plaguing the community? And what new, vast horror is stirring at Black Tooth Pond — a dark, legend-haunted body of water hidden deep in the surrounding forest?

Time is running out for the people of Aiken Mill.

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Read More About BROKEN BARRIERS
at stephenmarkrainey.com

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“Stephen Mark Rainey is the only writer whose prose ever gave me an actual thrill of fear. In Broken Barriers, he takes us back to the town of Aiken Mill for his own style of combined Lovecraftian and Appalachian horror. The plot hurtles along, gripping the reader with damn near unbearable tension as the characters scramble to make sense of the horror overwhelming the sleepy college town. I sure stayed up way too late, unable to turn the pages fast enough.”

—Matthew Carpenter, The Lovecraft eZine

“The cry of the whippoorwill is not what it seems, investigators are baffled, and the town of Aiken Mill—often known as ‵the cold case capital of the world´—holds ancient, terrifying secrets. Cosmic horror readers will devour this sequel to The House at Black Tooth Pond.”

—Mike Davis, The Lovecraft eZine

“A new novel from Stephen Mark Rainey is always cause for celebration, and Broken Barriers, a direct sequel to The House at Black Tooth Pond, does not disappoint. Rainey’s story is full of subtle wit and creeping dread, sitting somewhere near the intersection of Twin Peaks, The X-Files, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, and The Kingdom of Nye. I had a blast.”

—K. L. Young, author of The Secret Language of Spiders and others

THE HORROR COLLECTION: FEAR EDITION Now Available

KJK Publishing's The Horror Collection: Fear Edition, edited by Kevin J. Kennedy is now in the wild! This volume includes my story, "Awakening," along with 18 other fearsome tales. The list of authors whose work graces this one tells me I'll be in some damned fine literary company. Despite the fact I've overcome the arachnophobia that has afflicted me for most off my life, this cover image pretty much gives the creeps. I like that.

I'll have stories in other upcoming editions of The Horror Collection series, and yes, these will surely make you shake and quake (or least squirm a little). So, keep your eyes open!

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TABLE OF CONTENTS: 

• "The Nipples in Dad's Toolbox" by Ronald Kelly

• "Intruder Alert" by Devin Cabrera

• "Prey Drive" by Andreas Hort

• "Just a Spider" by Anthony Leibs

• "Grillfingers" by Bray Mattheson

• "Like A Good Family Should" by Josh Davis

• "Hunting in the Badlands" by A.M. Symes

• "J is for Jesusphobia" by William Meikle

• "Anniversary" by John Everson

• "Wailing Mona" by Tom Deady

• "Flagellum Dei" by Nenad Mitrović

• "Lost and Found" by Mark Morris

• "Voices" by Željko Obrenović

• "Awakening" by Stephen Mark Rainey

• "Pluck A Silken String" by Matthew R. Davis

• "Before It Comes Again" by Graham Masterton & Karolina Mogielska

• "Let the Sego Lilies Bleed" by Bryan Stubbles

• "Lost in Shinjuku Station" by Ryan Colley

• "Our Turn Too Will One Day Come" by Brian Hodge

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Order The Horror Collection:
Fear Edition from Amazon.com

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A Deep Background Interview at the Lovecraft Ezine Podcast

Yesterday, Mike Davis — the brains and brawn behind the Lovecraft Ezine Podcast conducted a super-fun Deep Background interview with me for his Patreon subscribers (you can get a free sample at the Patreon site here). If you're into cosmic horror, or scary stuff in general, please consider subscribing. There are tons of benefits at every level, and Mike — along with the rest of the Ezine crew — are sharp as hell, nicer than almost any extra-dimensional entities I've ever met, and always downright fun.

Coming Soon — The Horror Collection: Fear Edition

I reckon this is something to look forward to in the new few weeks: the release of KJK Publishing's The Horror Collection: Fear Edition, edited by Kevin J. Kennedy. New entries in The Horror Collection series hit the streets about once a month, and this one includes my story, "Awakening," along with 18 other fearsome tales. The list of authors with stories in this one tells me I'll be in damned fine literary company. I will, of course, post any additional relevant details, as well as ordering links, when the book is available. In the meantime, you can shrink from this cover in fear and awe. Despite the fact I've overcome the arachnophobia that has afflicted me for most off my life, this thing pretty much gives the creeps. I like that.

I'll have stories in other upcoming editions of The Horror Collection series, and yes, these will surely make you shake and quake (or least squirm a little). Keep your eyes open!

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TABLE OF CONTENTS: 

• "The Nipples in Dad's Toolbox" by Ronald Kelly

• "Intruder Alert" by Devin Cabrera

• "Prey Drive" by Andreas Hort

• "Just a Spider" by Anthony Leibs

• "Grillfingers" by Bray Mattheson

• "Like A Good Family Should" by Josh Davis

• "Hunting in the Badlands" by A.M. Symes

• "J is for Jesusphobia" by William Meikle

• "Anniversary" by John Everson

• "Wailing Mona" by Tom Deady

• "Flagellum Dei" by Nenad Mitrović

• "Lost and Found" by Mark Morris

• "Voices" by Željko Obrenović

• "Awakening" by Stephen Mark Rainey

• "Pluck A Silken String" by Matthew R. Davis

• "Before It Comes Again" by Graham Masterton & Karolina Mogielska

• "Let the Sego Lilies Bleed" by Bryan Stubbles

• "Lost in Shinjuku Station" by Ryan Colley

• "Our Turn Too Will One Day Come" by Brian Hodge

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Happy 60th Birthday to DARK SHADOWS!

On June 27, 1966, I was at my grandparents' house in Gainesville, Georgia, and I saw a commercial for an upcoming TV show called Dark Shadows. The advert made it look kind of creepy. Seven-year-old me was already into all kinds of creepy, so this new soap seemed just the ticket. I recall watching that first episode and a few more while we were in Gainesville. Then, when we came back here to Martinsville, Virginia, much to my horror, our nearest ABC affiliate (WGHP-8 out of High Point, NC) wasn't running Dark Shadows. Well, as you might imagine, I was heartbroken. After a while, I learned that some of my friends were able to watch the show because they already had cable TV and could pick it up on WLVA-13 out of Lynchburg, Virginia.

Sadly, we didn't get cable at our house until three years later. So, young Mark frequently invited himself over to cable-equipped friends' places to watch the show. My viewings were too sporadic to keep up with the storyline, but I didn't care. Dark Shadows was Dark Shadows, and that was all that mattered.

 

Somewhere in those episodes, I discovered Barnabas Collins, vampire, and however smitten I might have been with the show... well, now it was mad, feverish love. Then a werewolf. Trips into the past. This was pure magic, and I couldn't get enough of it. Yes, I begged and pleaded with my dad day and night to get cable TV, but he kept holding out... until one incredible day in 1969.

 

Now, I could watch Dark Shadows every single day. And I did. I didn't go outside to play or roam the neighborhood or torment my friends with my existence until the day's episode was over. Then came House of Dark Shadows, which I saw at the drive-in theater, thanks to my folks being sporting enough to take me. This just made the love affair more poignant.

 

And so it went until that catastrophic Friday in April 1971, when the show went off the air. I couldn't believe it. I'm pretty sure I cried my eyes out. On the following Monday, I tuned in at 4:00 p.m. as usual, just to make sure this wasn't all some cruel, belated April Fools joke.

 

Nope. The fuckers were showing Password. Mind you, I'd always liked Password until it occupied the Dark Shadows time slot, so from that moment, that show was dead to me.

 

During my school years, I wrote little Dark Shadows pastiches, especially for creative writing assignments. Later, portions of the show came back in syndication, so I glued myself to the screen again. This was very satisfying because it allowed me to see some of the storylines I'd missed in those very early years. For decades, to me — and vast numbers of fans — Dark Shadows never lost its allure.

 

Then, after I'd been writing professionally for just over a decade came the opportunity I'd been dreaming about since I'd written my first word of fan fiction: a genuine, official Dark Shadows novel, which I co-wrote with friend and fellow writer, Elizabeth Massie. HarperCollins released Dark Shadows: Dreams of the Dark in October 1999, following series star Lara Parker's first novel in the franchise, Angelique's Descent. At this point, it looked as though there would be more novel opportunities ahead, but much to my chagrin, HarperCollins shuttered their media tie-in division, and other than Lara's subsequent novels, there would be no more by other authors (S.E. Hinton had written one for the series and ended up excising the DS-specific elements and releasing it under the title Hawke's Harbor).

However, Big Finish, an audio production company in the UK, soon created a line of Dark Shadows audio dramas featuring the talents of many of the show's stars. I was fortunate enough to write the scripts to three of them: Path of Fate, Curse of the Pharaoh, and Blood Dance. These featured series stars Lara Parker, David Selby, Nancy Barrett, Marie Wallace, and Lisa Richards. All of these were beautifully performed and produced, and I love the fact that the Big Finish products are considered part of the show's canon. For me, these represent a true highlight of my love affair with Dark Shadows. 

In recent years, Dark Shadows fan and event organizer, Bob Issel, whom I'd met at the 1999 Dark Shadows Festival in New York City and have remained good friends with ever since, produced a trio of volumes titled Our Shadowed Past, featuring essays, interviews, and photos by both the fans and the stars/crew of the franchise. I contributed essays to all of them as well as created the layouts and graphics for the first and third of the books. And a few years back, author Jim Beard produced a lovely volume of essays to which I contributed titled Running Home to Shadows.

Yes, it is safe to say that Dark Shadows has been a pivotal, inspiring force in my life, going back almost as far as I can remember, both personally and professionally. Who knows whether I'll have more opportunities to contribute to Dark Shadows lore in my remaining years, but if so, I'll probably jump on them. And if not, I feel I can be pretty damned proud of the work I've done for the franchise. In my book, that makes me luckier than freaking lucky.

Grounded

When Ms. Brugger was in Michigan on her most recent parent-maintenance visit, they lost internet at their house for several days, so she began going to Live Oak Coffeehouse (which we both frequent when we're there) to do her work. Then, kind of on a lark, she decided it might be "fun" to take her work with her to The Ground Floor, here in Uptown Martinsville. Well, we both love the coffee and vittles at The Ground Floor, so we figured why not both of us? And sure enough. It's a great atmosphere, and sometimes a change of scenery enhances the creativity. Quite by accident, as I was archiving some of my short fiction, I discovered that the MS Word file of one of my old stories — "The Herald at Midnight" from 1991 — was mysteriously truncated. The last 500 words or so were just plain gone, from both the original file and its backup. So, I decided to take the opportunity to clean up the manuscript, and when we got home, I manually transcribed the missing portion from my physical copy of The Last Trumpet. It wasn't really what I had anticipated having to do, but I'm glad I made the discovery and was able to make the necessary repairs.

 

Anyhoo, our little outing proved so positive that I think we'll be doing it again on a more regular basis. You just never know what sort of things might happen.

 

As you can see in the photo above, Ms. B. is starting to feel over-caffeinated, while the old dude is so far from reaching adequately caffeinated that it's kind of painful.

 

Till again. 

New Freebie: "Epiphany: A Flying Tiger's Story"

I've put up a new freebie on my website — "Epiphany: A Flying Tiger's Story," a tale of cosmic horror set in the Pacific during WWII. This one originally appeared in the Dark Tales anthology Dead But Dreaming in 2001. (There are also several other stories on the site you may check out if you wish.) Available as a PDF or ePub file.

 

This story is a companion piece to another WII story, titled "The Children of Burma," which originally appeared in The Spook magazine, also in 2001. I have made it available as a freebie in the past, and I'll no doubt do so again in the upcoming days.

If you enjoy these tales, please let me know. Use the "Contact Me" link at my website — The Realm of Stephen Mark Rainey (www.stephenmarkrainey.com).

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Grab "Epiphany: A Flying Tiger's Story" here

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Mark's Mythosphere

During the forty-some years I've been writing and publishing fiction, I have developed what amounts to a unique mythos, largely consistent with (if not necessarily part of) H.P. Lovecraft's so-called "Cthulhu Mythos." Like many writers from my generation—not to mention generations before and after—I came up as a fan of Lovecraft's works and many of my earliest stories qualified as little more than pastiches. None of them were publishable, but I consider them valuable practice runs for the works that would come after.

I've been asked on more than one occasion if I've made a definitive list of my stories and novels that fit into what I call the "Mythosphere," and the answer is no—until now! While some of my works definitely meet its (rather loose) criteria, others are harder to categorize; many might be called outliers, in that they share some common elements with my more overt Lovecraftian tales but don't fit neatly into any particular niche.

 

So, what is this Mythosphere? One of my earliest stories, titled "Threnody," latched onto the concept of sound—specifically music—as a means of bridging dimensions, inspired largely by HPL's "The Music of Erich Zann." In this story, I introduced a "music grimoire" titled The Spheres Beyond Sound, authored by one Maurice Zann. This volume served as a backdrop for a number of my early tales, and even some of my later ones. I never explored the character of Maurice Zann beyond describing him as an unspecified relative of HPL's character and stating that he vanished while experimenting with the musical formulae he devised.

 

The name Maurice Zann had what I'd call rather odd roots. When I was a youngster, I had a record album called A Child's Introduction to Music, and it was produced/narrated by one Maurice Zam. However, because this name was printed in a flowing script on the album cover, for many years, I read his name as "Zann." Thus was born Erich Zann's lesser-known relative.

 

I've written many stories over the years specifically for Lovecraftian/Cthulhu Mythos publications, though my preference has always been to shy away from specific Lovecraftian entities/settings/characters whenever possible. In any event, these overt Cthulhu Mythos stories comprise the earliest building blocks of my personal Mythosphere. As I continued to create fiction, I developed a few settings and characters that have appeared in numerous works. With my long history in the Piedmont and Appalachian regions of Virginia, I naturally gravitated toward them as atmospheric settings. The fictional Sylvan County and town of Aiken Mill are loosely based on the Martinsville/Henry County area where I grew up (and to which I've retired). Beckham College is based on Ferrum College in nearby Franklin County (Benjamin Beckham was Ferrum's first president). Barren Creek is based on Henry, Virginia, located between here and Ferrum. Also, since I lived in Chicago for several years, it has served as the setting of numerous stories and books.

 

In short, those works that I include in the Mythosphere are always rooted in cosmic horror to some degree or another, and most of them fit neatly into a fictional history of the regions in which they're set, occasionally with shared characters. One example of an outlier might be my second novel, The Lebo Coven (1994), which is set in Aiken Mill, though I consider it more an occult-based mystery than a true example of cosmic horror. The town sheriff in this novel is named George Parrott; in my recent novel, The House at Black Tooth Pond (2025), which is a distinct blend of folk and cosmic horror, the sheriff is Bryce Parrott, George's son (and he also appears in my new sequel to The House at Black Tooth Pond, titled Broken Barriers, to be released later this year by Crossroad Press/Macabre Ink).

 

And so, with no further ado, I will present here my list of stories and novels that I consider bona fide entries in Mark's Mythosphere. The year shown is when the works were written, and the bulleted entries denote the places/years of publication. Make of this what you will.

Mark's Mythosphere:
1985

“Smiert Galgalith”
   • The Haunted Journal (magazine, 1987)

“The Grey House” (short story)

   • Crypt of Cthulhu (magazine, 1992)
   • The Last Trumpet (collection; Wildside Press, 2000)

1986
“The Arms of Doom” (short story)
   • Deathrealm (magazine, 1987)

1987
“Threnody” (short story)
   • Deathrealm (magazine, 1987)
   • The New Lovecraft Circle (anthology; published under the title "The Spheres Beyond
         Sound"; Fedogan & Bremer, 1996)
   • The Last Trumpet (collection; Wildside Press, 2000)
   • Fugue Devil Resurgence (collection; Black Raven Books, 2022; reissued by Damned
         Rodan Publishing, 2026)

“The Red Depths” (short story)
   • Revelations From Yuggoth (magazine, 1987)

“The Spheres Beyond Sound” (short story)
   • Tales of Lovecraftian Horror (magazine, 1987)
   • The Last Trumpet (collection; Wildside Press, 2000)

“Rapture in Black” (short story)
   • Crypt of Cthulhu (magazine,1987)
   • The Innsmouth Cycle (anthology; Chaosium, 1998)
   • Other Gods (collection; Dark Regions Press, 2008)

1988
“God of Byzantium” (short story)
   • Aberations (magazine, 1991)

“Symphonia Maledictus” (short story)
   • Dagger of the Mind (magazine, 1990)

“Chameleon” (short story)
   • Eldritch Tales (magazine, 1990)

1989
“Spiritual Radio” (short story)
   • Chills (magazine, 1992)
   • The Last Trumpet (collection; Wildside Press, 2000)

“Misfits” (short story)
   • Midnight Zoo (magazine, 1991)
   • Quick Chills (anthology; Scream Factory Books, 1992)
   • The Last Trumpet (collection; Wildside Press, 2000)

“The Last Trumpet” (short story)
   • Limited Infinity (magazine, 1991)

“Return of the Navigator” (short story)
   • Fugue Devil & Other Weird Horrors (collection; Macabre Ink, 1992)

1990
“Fugue Devil” (novelette)
   • Fugue Devil & Other Weird Horrors (collection; Macabre Ink, 1992)
   • The Last Trumpet (collection; Wildside Press, 2000)
   • Other Gods (collection; Dark Regions Press, 2008)
   • Fugue Devil Resurgence (collection; Black Raven Books, 2022; reissued by Damned
         Rodan Publishing, 2026)

1991
“The Last Show at Verdi’s Supper Club” (short story)
   • After Hours (magazine, 1992)
   • Song of Cthulhu (anthology; Chaosium, 2001)

“The Herald at Midnight” (short story)
   • Not One of Us (magazine, 1992)
   • The Last Trumpet (collection; Wildside Press, 2000)

1992
Balak (novel)
   • Wildside Press (paperback/ebook, 2000)
   • Crossroad Press/Macabre Ink (audiobook, 2010)
   • Crossroad Press/Macabre Ink (revised edition; paperback/ebook, 2026)

1993
“Stalker of the Wild Wind” (short story)
   • Terminal Fright (magazine, 1993)
   • The Ithaqua Cycle (anthology; Chaosium, 1999)
   • Legends of the Night (collection; Wildside Press, 2001)

“Sabbath of the Black Goat” (short story)
   • The Shub-Niggurath Cycle (anthology; Chaosium, 1994)
   • The Last Trumpet (collection; Wildside Press, 2000)

1994
The Lebo Coven (novel)
   • Thomson Gale/Five Star Books (hardback, 2004)
   • Crossroad Press/Macabre Ink (paperback/ebook/audiobook, 2010)

“S” (short story)
   • The Azathoth Cycle (anthology; published under the title “The Pit of Shoggoths,”
         Chaosium, 1996)
   • The Last Trumpet (collection; Wildside Press, 2000)

1995
“To Be as They” (short story)
   • Miskatonic University (anthology; DAW, 1996)
   • The Last Trumpet (collection; Wildside Press, 2000

“The Devil’s Eye” (short story)
   • Midnight Shambler (magazine, 1997)
   • The Last Trumpet (collection; Wildside Press, 2000)
   • Other Gods (collection; Dark Regions Press, 2008)
   • Fugue Devil Resurgence (collection; Black Raven Books, 2022; reissued by Damned
         Rodan Publishing, 2026)

1996
“Shudder Wyrm” (short story)
   • Singers of Strange Songs (anthology; Chaosium,1997)

“The Fire Dogs of Balustrade” (short story)
   • New Mythos Legends (anthology; Marietta Publishing, 1999)
   • The Last Trumpet (collection; Wildside Press, 2000)
   • Other Gods (collection; Dark Regions Press, 2008)

1997
“Orchestra” (short story)
   • October Dreams (anthology; CD Books, 2000)
   • Legends of the Night (collection; Wildside Press, 2001)

“Pachacutec” (short story)
   • Deathrealm (magazine 1997)

1999
“The Children of Burma” (short story)
   • The Spook (magazine, 2001)
   • Legends of the Night (collection; Wildside Press, 2001)
   • The Cthulhu Mythos Megapack: 40 Modern & Classic Lovecraftian Stories
     (mega-anthology; Wildside Press, 2013)

2001
“Epiphany: A Flying Tiger’s Story” (short story)
   • Dead But Dreaming (anthology; DarkTales Books, 2001)
   • Dark Homage (series; Delirium Books, 2004)
   • Other Gods (collection; Dark Regions Press, 2008)

2002
Blue Devil Island (novel)
   • Thomson Gale/Five Star Books (hardback, 2007)
   • Marietta Press (paperback, 2012)
   • Crossroad Press/Macabre Ink (paperback/ebook/audiobook, 2015)

2003
“The Violet Princess” (short story)
   • Eldritch Blue (anthology; Lindisfarne Press, 2004)
   • Other Gods (collection; Dark Regions Press, 2008)

2004
“The Transformer of Worlds” (short story)
   • Daikaiju (anthology; Agog Press, 2005)
   • Other Gods (collection; Dark Regions Press, 2008)

2005
“Other Gods” (short story)
   • Cemetery Dance (magazine, 2006)
   • Other Gods (collection; Dark Regions, 2008)

2006
“Contact” (short story, with John Pelan)
   • Black Wings of Cthulhu IV (anthology; PS Publishing, 2016)

“The Ghost Lens” (short story)
   • Horrors Beyond II (anthology; Elder Signs Press, 2007)
   • The Gaki & Other Hungry Spirits (collection; Dark Regions Press, 2011)

“Messages From a Dark Deity” (short story)
   • Return of the Old Ones (anthology; Dark Regions Press, 2016)
   • Fugue Devil Resurgence (collection; Black Raven Books, 2022; reissued by Damned
         Rodan Publishing, 2026)

2007
“Signals” (short story)
   • High Seas Cthulhu (anthology; Elder Signs Press, 2007)
   • Other Gods (collection; Dark Regions Press, 2008)

“Abroyel” (short story)
   • The Gaki & Other Hungry Spirits (collection; Dark Regions Press, 2011)

2010
“Beneath the Pier” (short story)
   • Lovecraft eZine (webzine, 2013)

“The Warlords of Leng” (short story)
   • Secret Asia’s Blackest Heart (anthology; Timaios Press, 2021)

“The End of Henry Switch Road” (short story)
   • Dark Discoveries (magazine, 2012)

2011
“The Danforth Project” (short story)
   • The Mountains of Madness (anthology; Celaeno Press, 2015)

“The Gods of Moab” (novelette)
   • Damned Rodan Publishing (ebook, 2012; paperback, 2024)

“Ecstasy of the Gold” (short story)
   • Lovecraft eZine (webzine, 2012)

2013
“The Game Changers” (short story)
   • World War Cthulhu (anthology; Dark Regions Press, 2014)

“When Jarly Calls” (short story)
   • Fugue Devil Resurgence (collection; Black Raven Books, 2022; reissued by Damned
         Rodan Publishing, 2026)

2014
“Masque of the Queen” (short story)
   • In the Court of the Yellow King (anthology, Celaeno Press, 2014)
   • Fugue Devil Resurgence (collection; Black Raven Books, 2022; reissued by Damned
         Rodan Publishing, 2026)

“Short Wave” (short story)
   • The Summer of Lovecraft (anthology; Chaosium, 2019)
   • Fugue Devil Resurgence (collection; Black Raven Books, 2022; reissued by Damned
         Rodan Publishing, 2026)

2016
“The Diaries of Henry P. Linklatter” (short story)
   • Through a Mythos Darkly (anthology; PS Publishing, 2017)

2017
“The Veil of Dreams” (short story)
   • Tails of Terror (anthology; Golden Goblin Press, 2018)

“Clicks” (short story)
   • Tales From Arkham Sanitarium (anthology; Dark Regions Press, 2022)

2018
“Pons Devana” (short story)
   • Fugue Devil Resurgence (collection; Black Raven Books, 2022; reissued by Damned
         Rodan Publishing, 2026)

2022
“Nimbus” (short story)
   • The Weird Cat (anthology; WordCrafts Press, 2023)

2023
“The House at Black Tooth Pond” (short story)
   • Shunned Houses (anthology; WordCrafts Press, 2024)

2024
The House at Black Tooth Pond (novel)
  • Crossroad Press/Macabre Ink (paperback/ebook/audiobook, 2025)

“Throatwarbler Meets the Vampire” (short story)
   • Eldritch Force (anthology; Weird House Publishing, publication TBA)

“Foragers” (short story)
   • Witches and Witchcraft (anthology; Hippocampus Press, 2025)

2025
“Trial Phase” (short story)
  • Shoggoths (anthology; Crossroad Press, publication TBA)

2026
Broken Barriers (novel)
   • Crossroad Press/Macabre Ink (publication TBA)

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BALAK (Revised Edition) Now Available

The new, revised edition of Balak is now available from Crossroad Press/Macabre Ink in ebook and paperback. (The audiobook is the original version.)

"This revised edition of Stephen Mark Rainey’s first novel, Balak (originally written in 1992), offers a cleaner version of the text and includes some alterations to unify it with numerous other works that define the author’s unique, four-decade-old mythos."

About Balak...

Two years ago, Claire Challis’s four-year-old son disappeared without a trace. Now, on a cold winter morning, a neighbor’s child vanishes outside her apartment. The subsequent police investigation turns up no clues.

Claire encounters a strange priest. An ancient church that seems to be the site of unspeakable rituals. A shadowy figure that seems to appear and disappear at will. And now, Claire finds herself at the center of a web of intrigue—and in fear for her life. Still, she is determined to learn the truth behind the abductions and learn once and for all the fate of her missing son.

As she delves deeper and deeper into the mystery, Claire realizes that her quest may lead her not to the truth she seeks, but to a place of madness, horror, and agony beyond her wildest imaginings.

Cover art by M. Wayne Miller.

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Order Balak from Amazon.com

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Coming Soon: The New, Revised Edition of BALAK

The production work on the new, revised edition of my first novel, Balak, has been completed, so I'm anticipating the book release in the very near future. This will be an ebook and paperback release; the audiobook is available from Crossroad Press, though it's the original version. The legendary M. Wayne Miller has provided the artwork, and I'm thrilled with it.

 

I had posted a few details about this release in my May 16 blog entry, "New, Revised Edition of Balak in the Pipe," and as soon as I have any ordering information, I will of course share it here, there, and everywhere.

 

Also, it's kinda nice when I see this sort of thing on social media. One of Ms. B.'s friends found The House at Black Tooth Pond at her local library and was kind enough to shared it online. Huzzah!

AuthorCon VII — March 5–7, 2027

'Tis done—I have reserved a vendor table in the ballroom at Scares That Care: AuthorCon VII, coming up March 5–7, 2027, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Williamsburg. I have attended all the Williamsburg Scares That Care events, so now, each one feels kind of like a homecoming. This past year's con was among my best ever, sales-wise and fun-wise (spoiled only by the fact that Brugger was not there because she had to go to Michigan after her mom broke her leg).

 

Guests of honor for AuthorCon VII include V. Castro, Eric LaRocca, Erin Louis, and John Skipp. I'm sure more will be added in the coming months.

 

Anyway, I'll be there (hopefully with Ms. B. this time), and I hope you will too. 

NecronomiCon Providence 2026 Is Taking Shape

NecronomiCon Providence 2026 is coming — August 13–16 — and Ms. B. and I will be there to plague the existence of everyone there. The con is spread between the Omni Providence Hotel and the Graduate Hotel (formerly the Biltmore). The programming schedule has not been finalized yet, but I will be participating on two panels and possibly (hopefully) having a reading.

 

At the last NecronomiCon Providence (2024), I stayed at the Omni, which is a fabulous hotel, but this year, Brugger and I are planning to remain a few extra days to avail ourselves of some of the nearby locales we'd like to visit, such as Salem, Massachusetts and, possibly, Newport, Rhode Island, again, which we very much enjoyed on our November 2024 visit. So, to save a bit of money, we've booked a nice AirBnB on nearby Federal Hill, which we visited on our previous trip. As any H.P. Lovecraft reader knows, Federal Hill was featured in his writings, most notably, "The Haunter of the Dark" (1935), which is among my favorites of his tales.

 

The panels on my schedule, as of now, are the following: 

PANEL: Drifting Down the River of Night’s Dreaming: Karl Edward Wagner. Karl Edward Wagner (American, 1945–1994) was a poet, editor, and publisher born in Knoxville, Tennessee. Wagner is known for his Sword and Sorcery anti-hero Kane, the Mystic Swordsman, and more contemporary horror tales that often drew on his personal demons and training as a psychiatrist. Wagner co-founded Carcosa Press and was executor of Manley Wade Welman’s literary estate until his death. He edited many anthologies, including fourteen years of The Year’s Best Horror. Our panelists discuss Wagner, his influences, and his impact on horror, fantasy, and the greater weird. Panelists: Douglass Winter, F. Brett Cox, John Langan, Jordan Douglas Smith, Stephen Mark Rainey (Moderator) 

PANEL: In Mountains Older than Bones: Appalachian Gothic. Rightly or wrongly, on America’s cultural map, Appalachia is the equivalent to “Here there be monsters”--a region assumed not only to be unknown but perhaps also unknowable–where we credulously suspend our own disbelief. Panelists discuss what defines Appalachian Gothic, good and bad examples of the genre, and why the region has such a hold on the popular imagination. Panelists:Jess Lewis, Mike Allen (Moderator), Shanna Germain, Stephen Mark Rainey, Tonya Monteforte

Note that a cruel miscreant had the gall to designate me the moderator of the Karl Edward Wagner panel. I'm not fond of moderating, and I hadn't expressed any interest in it, but, well, there it is. I had a fair amount of personal experience with Karl, particularly since he wrote the column, "The View From Carcosa," for Deathrealm magazine back in the day.

So, I'll update information about the con as I get it. Hope to see a bunch of you...to plague you with my existence. 

New, Revised Edition of BALAK in the Pipe

Back in 1992, after having spent several years writing exclusively short fiction, I buckled down and wrote my first novel, Balak. My agent at the time very quickly found a mass-market publisher who was interested in the book, and for a while, it looked like its publication was in the bag. Unfortunately, before I even signed the contract — as so frequently happens in the publishing business — the imprint that would have launched Balak went the ways of the wind, leaving the novel without a home. Sometime afterward, though, Wildside Press, a much smaller but prolific and respected publishing house, picked up the novel, and released it in 2000 (for reasons unknown, Amazon.com shows Balak's publication date as 2003, but that is incorrect), along with my short fiction collection, The Last Trumpet.

 

Recently, I've had a mind to do something more with the book because the character, Balak (whom I appropriated from the Bible), has played a significant role in a number of my works of fiction — including a very new one. Since Wildside Press has had the rights to the book for... OMG, twenty-six years (and has done very well with it, I'm pleased to say)... I decided to reclaim the paperback and ebook rights (Crossroad Press has the audiobook rights, and it is currently available), revise it so that it reads less like the inaugural outing of a very green novelist, and repackage it. The first step is complete, and I have also secured the rights an apt piece of art by the incomparable M. Wayne Miller, whose work adorns several of my book covers as well as numerous stories I published in Deathrealm magazine back in the day. Note that the cover image above is a dummy I created with Wayne's art; it is subject to change.

 

The long and short of it is that I am currently in the revision process, and once it's all done, Crossroad Press will release the new paperback and ebook editions (the audiobook will remain the original). I anticipate having this all in the bag in the next couple of months, so it will hopefully to precede the release of Broken Barriers, which is also in the pipe.

So, I hope this will be cause for celebration and that you unfortunate souls who were exposed to the original product will avail yourself of the new edition rather than go the rest of your lives wondering what the hell was wrong with that peculiar young writer.*

 

*Now, you may rightly wonder what the hell is wrong with that peculiar old writer.

BROKEN BARRIERS Completed!

I just slapped "THE END" on my 15th novel, Broken Barriers, to be released a bit later this year. This is the sequel to The House at Black Tooth Pond, which came out in 2025. I'll have the proofing, editing, and all that stuff to do, but the bulk of the book is finished. Might need a celebratory martini this evening!

Here's the teeny-tiniest of excerpts... 

Doctor Melissa “Mel” Crawford's deep green eyes lingered on Parrott’s for a few seconds. They sat across from each other at a small table by the front window of Willy’s Downtown Tavern, which offered a lovely view of the sprawling, two-century-old First United Methodist Church building across Main Street (the congregation of which had disapproved of the tavern’s proximity for a full half as many years). Doc Crawford had always looked far younger than her age, which he put at around forty…or maybe thirty…or maybe fifty…who knew? But since last month, several new lines and creases had formed at the corners of her eyes, and a few gray streaks ran through her short, wiry brown hair, so that she resembled a sagacious pixie. As the county medical examiner, she had borne more than her share of the FBI’s condemnation during its investigation of Aiken Mill’s missing six.

“When was the last time I trusted anyone?” Parrott asked.

“Well, you trusted me when I told you we were dealing with something wholly unexplainable at Black Tooth Pond. And when I advised you to call the FBI, you up and did it, against your better judgment. And when I said, ‘Let’s go out to dinner because you need cheering up,’ you accepted. At this point, I would have to call you exceedingly gullible—the fact that we were dealing with something wholly unexplainable notwithstanding.”

“Point taken, but our admittedly nasty intercourse with the FBI was inevitable. We were in over our heads.”

Doc Crawford snickered and raised her nearly full glass of Chardonnay. “To intercourse and being in over our heads.”

Parrott lifted his half-empty, no-longer-chilled mug of Thunder Knob IPA to touch her glass. He struck it a little harder than he intended and sloshed a smidgen of her pale gold-tinted wine onto the table. They both ignored it. A couple of seconds later, the last of his beer had vanished.

#

I Wonder What That Is...

Well, it sure looks like something is out there at Black Tooth Pond.

My work on the sequel to The House at Black Tooth Pond is coming closer and closer to its end. Only a couple of chapters more, I believe, before I can slap "The End" on it. And then we shall see...

The Devil Flies in Strix

For reasons I really can't detail here, I'm just going to say that this has been one of the worst weeks of my life, and I'm feeling a little broken. The only reason I'm mentioning this here is because there's a certain catharsis in putting it out there. I'm sure that, given time, I'll be all right, although, in its way, this is a life-changing situation. Physically, I'm completely fine, though for right now, I will not deny that I'm feeling a bit of a wreck.

That said, this week I received a most-welcome acceptance from KJK Publishing for my story, "The Devil Flies in Strix," to appear in their upcoming Cryptids anthology later this year. It'll be my second cryptid-themed story to see publication this year; the first — also a "devil" story — titled "The Devil of Transylvania County," appeared in the recent Myths Reborn anthology from October Nights Press. KJK Publishing previously published my story, "Magic Eye," in their Horror Collection: Crystal Edition, in February 2025.

And in other decent news, I'm getting to the last leg of my sequel to The House at Black Tooth Pond, which I'm pretty sure will be titled Broken Barriers. The cover art has been acquired from artist J. Edward Neill, whose art also appeared on the cover of The House at Black Tooth Pond and Deathrealm: Spirits.

And speaking of spirits, hopefully, next entry, mine will be better.

Destination: Rock Hill

Six weeks ago, Brugger's mom, Fern, fell and broke her leg in several places. Kimberly immediately booked a flight to Michigan so she could look after her folks, since her dad has physical issues of his own. For all these weeks, she's played nursemaid, household manager, and gofer; here at home, the cats and I have done our best to cope (it was certainly not easy on us cats!). Finally, at last, after this extended sojourn, Brugger returned home on Wednesday of this week.

Many moons ago, unaware that life would throw her a series of ripping curve balls, she had reserved a spot at an (expensive) arts & crafts retreat in Rock Hill, SC, for this weekend. So, rather than come and go with only a couple days back home, she decreed that I should accompany her to Rock Hill. And hey, how cool is this anyway? A weekend at a nice hotel (the Holiday Inn Rock Hill), numerous restaurants and bars to check out, geocaching in a place I'd never geocached, individual fun times when she's at her activity, and fun times together when she's not. For me, all this equals a great big woot!

Friday, April 10, 2026 

We headed out about nine o'clock this morning, stopping along the way for coffee, caches, peeing, and lunch at The Smoke Pit in Salisbury, NC. It's one of my favorite BBQ restaurants, which I'd discovered it while geocaching several years ago. This was Ms. B.'s inaugural visit, and happily, she found it as enjoyable as I do. Then we moved on and arrived at the hotel in Rock Hill about one o'clock in the afternoon. She set herself up in the big artsy-craftsy area, and I went geocaching. Of all things, there was supposed to be a cache hidden inside the bar of our hotel, except the bar had been recently remodeled, and the cache was a casualty of the alteration. Alas!

Still, several caches lay within reasonable walking distance, so I hoofed it to a handful of them, which I found. On my geocaching map, I saw a cache in a park along the Catawba River about a mile farther on, so I decided to go for it. It was a lovely walk on a trail through the woods, but when I arrived at ground zero, it was clear the cache was not there. Fuckboogers! That was one long walk for naught, caching-wise, but the scenery was gorgeous, so I figure it was anything but a waste of time.

 

By the time I reached the hotel, I'd put in over five miles on foot, so it was a relief to take a shower, kick back, and work on my sequel to The House at Black Tooth Pond. About five o'clock, Brugger reappeared, and we sought dinner in downtown Rock Hill at a place called Ay Papi Tacos & Tequila. Lord have mercy, the food, drink, and service here were incredible. I had a smoked margarita made with mezcal, served in a skull, that about sent me over the edge of ecstasy (see photo above). The two tacos I had—the Heat Wave (grilled chicken tossed in house spicy sauce, black garlic aioli, candied jalapeños, cilantro) and La Bebé Verde (Ox tail slow roasted in a tomatillo sauce, onions, cilantro, queso fresco)—rated as high on the Taco Fantastique scale as it gets.

 

Then we returned to the hotel, Brugger went down to continue her artsy-craftsy activities, and I worked on me book. A lovely fooking day, I must say. It's so, SO good to hang out with my wife (a.k.a. the Stranger) finally, at last, again.

Brisket sandwich, red slaw, and fried okra at The Smoke Pit in Salisbury, NC. Heavenly.

L: Grogu on the caching trail??? R: I wonder what that is in yonder crevice?

A purty sunset from our hotel room window, Friday, April 10, 2026

Saturday, April 11, 2026
There is an emotional downside to this particular date, and that is because my dad passed away on April 11, 2001. For me, April has historically been a bad month for losing loved ones. Apart from Dad, several good friends and three of my beloved cats passed away in April. These sad events have tarnished a month that, in my younger years, I found tranquil and generally heartening, what with the onset of spring, the blooming trees and flowers, moderate temperatures, and an upcoming birthday in May (though nowadays, the birthday is a date to ignore rather than celebrate). Still, with the passage of time, the pain of profound loss has at last given way to joyful memories of love and companionship. May April not be a bitch from here on out.

Once we were up and about this morning, I wandered down to the hotel restaurant for a quick bite at the breakfast buffet, which I found satisfying (far better than the last hotel breakfast buffet I'd had), and Brugger went to her crafty event. I got myself together and headed out geocaching. My first destination was the nearby Manchester Meadows Park, which has a few nice trails and several caches. There was a soccer game or two in making, and tons of people were filing into the park, but thankfully, the caches were mostly off the beaten track, so dodging muggles didn't present much of a problem. One cache was missing and disabled, but I figured I'd give it a look anyway because, occasionally, I have found missing caches by searching areas where they might have washed away. No luck on this count today, but I did find a very old, archived geocache—a plastic ammo box—that at some point had been smashed by a falling tree. Pity I can't claim a find on it, but at least it was an interesting item to turn up.

A smashing discovery

After logging my final cache in the park, I managed to bang my shin pretty good on a metal bench. Since it broke the skin, I hit the wound with some Purell sanitizer when I reached my car, and people probably heard the hollering most of the way across town.

 

From Manchester Meadows, I headed toward downtown Rock Hill and Winthrop University, which I ended up touring à pied. It's a scenic campus, and I encountered lots of muggle activity. Again, the caches were mostly tucked away, so muggles were barely a concern. Several of the hides were very nicely done too, much more satisfying than the all-too-common park & grab variety. After this bunch, I settled for a light lunch at Katana Kitchen—a couple of spring rolls and a cup of miso soup—because I figure we'll be having a substantial dinner somewhere this evening. 

R: Turtles! L: Woops!

L: Artesian well. There might have been a cache there. R: Winthrop University clock tower

Whee!

Once back at the hotel, I settled in to write, first on this blog entry, and then on Broken Barriers (assuming that's going to be its title). I can finally see the light at the end of this book, so I'm hoping to finish it within a month. I'm very happy with the progress I've been making so far.

 

For dinner, Ms. B. had taken a shine to a place called The Pour Market, down at Winthrop University, where I'd been caching earlier today. Once we got there, though, we discovered the place was closed for a special event. So, upon searching some nearby, apt-looking locations, we settled on Old Town Kitchen & Cocktails. This turned out to be a great choice. The surroundings here are all modern, industrial style, but the interior of Old Town has a warm, bookish atmosphere. The service, food, and drink turned out to be first-rate. Brugger went for white wine (seriously, she's usually all right) and a superb smashburger. I had an excellent dirty martini and smoked chicken wings with a white BBQ sauce, which I'd rate very good. So, despite being denied our first dinner choice, our second turned out quite loverly.

 

Back at the hotel, Brugger returned to artsing and craftsing, and I wrote many words. I must say, it's nice to be away, to have an enjoyable weekend that breaks the routine. And lord knows, after six weeks and every variety of stressor in the book, Ms. B. was due for a major respite. Of course, she's still had to spend a lot of time on the phone sorting out her folks' care since she's not there to do it in person. For me, finally managing substantial quality time with her plus caching, dining, writing, and excellent spirits have worked wonders for an aging inner spirit.

 

In the morning, we'll get up and get going. All in all, our Rock Hill excursion has been a treat, and I hope it helped Ms. B.'s stress level. Sadly, it won't be going down appreciably anytime in the near future. We just have to take what we can get whenever we can get it.

Tonic for the spirits at Old Town Kitchen & Cocktails